Supreme Court to hear case Monday on if localities can sue oil companies for climate damages

The Supreme Court's next chapter begins on Monday as it prepares to tackle pivotal cases encompassing President Trump's immigration policies, climate change litigation, and gun control laws. However, an increasingly frustrated Trump may target the high court he helped shape via his social media platform, Truth Social.

The executive and judicial branches are set for another clash with a president who operates with intense speed. State of play: The court recently agreed to hear two major immigration cases, one concerning mandatory detention for specific immigrants and the other addressing deportations to third countries where the individuals lack ties. In the latter, the high court permitted the administration to resume its accelerated third-country deportations recently while considering the underlying legal issues in December.

On Thursday, the court agreed to take up the detention case, setting the stage to scrutinize the Trump administration's legal interpretation that noncitizens who entered the U.S. illegally but have been living in the country should be held without bond. While federal appeals courts have been split on the matter, a majority — nine out of 11 — have rejected the Trump administration's perspective.

Notably, while the Supreme Court overturned Trump's attempt to undermine birthright citizenship last term, it granted the administration several victories on immigration matters through its shadow docket. These accomplishments allowed the administration to terminate temporary protected status, enforce stricter asylum rules, and employ a revamped tool for verifying voters' citizenship.

Before these cases reach the bench, the court will hear arguments on Monday in a crucial climate case that might decide the future of state-court lawsuits nationwide seeking climate damages from oil corporations, according to Axios' Ben Geman. The court also added two other cases to its list on Thursday, discussing a federal law protecting religious groups' land use brought by a missionary organization and military benefits in divorce settlement agreements.

Later this year, the court will examine the constitutionality of bans on AR-15-style weapons and whether Arizona can require proof of citizenship for people registering to vote. Additional disputes over other Trump policies will likely come before the court during this term.